I haven’t seen any threads for this subject before and am hoping
someone has some for me. I am a jewelry designer, but
have also been making findings - specifically findings geared
towards lampworkers. I never expected the response that I have
received - but it has been absolutely overwhelming - to say the
least. I am to the point where I cannot even begin to keep up with
production for the orders. I have only marketed to a very small
segment of the buyers, and can’t even imagine what kind of sales
there would be if I actually advertised.
I have the initial patents filed with the PTO. Basically, I am
looking to sell the rights to these designs to someone else. I can’t
keep up, and I don’t want to deal with sending these offshore for
production, etc. I’d like to get back to my art jewelry designs -
right now I’m working myself into the ground as a production house.
I already have the market, the sales proof that there is a great
desire for these findings, and I’m also being approached by stores
for large orders that I just can’t possibly take on right now.
These findings are something I could see sold by Rio Grande or
another jewelry supply company.
Does anyone know how I go about getting this business off my hands
and possibly selling it or licensing the rights to another company?
If anyone would like to contact me offline, I can give you a link to
the site where I sell these findings and any additional information
you would like from me.
least. I am to the point where I cannot even begin to keep up
with production for the orders. I have only marketed to a very
small
This is a good place to be USUALLY. But if you can’t hire people to
do the work and still sell your device profitably then you’ve got a
big problem. If your smashing sales are because you’ve underpriced
the device rather than because of the device’s inherent
advantages/merits it will be hard to get anyone interested in taking
it over and paying you.
I have the initial patents filed with the PTO.
The bottom line is you don’t have “patents filed.” You may very well
have filed an APPLICATION with the PTO but the only right that gives
you is to say “patent pending” until the application is abandoned (or
a patent issues). What applications do for certain is give YOU
obligations that you must either follow through on or lose any
possible future rights. The miscomprehension of the distinction
between filing “patents” versus “applications” will be a big red flag
to any reasonably sophisticated prospective buyer. The normal
procedure to drive unsophisticated patent applicants to the wall is
to simply exhibit a waxing and waning interest and drag it, and
possibly real negotiations, out a year or more—it’s a cheap and
effective tactic!
right now I'm working myself into the ground as a production
house.
Admitting this is another big red flag that could mean 1) no deal
will be worth it because all that’s been proven is that something
sells well when underpriced or 2) your business skills/current
knowledge make you an easy target to negotiate yourself into a bad
deal. Remember, even if you are “profitable” selling the device
yourself the real margins must be high enough to not only pay your
royalties but to provide real profitability to the licensee (or less
likely, outright buyer) that is ABOVE what competing opportunities
for their resources offer.
Does anyone know how I go about getting this business off my
hands and possibly selling it or licensing the rights to another
company?
Licensing is by far your best bet but it won’t happen unless you can
provide evidence that you are likely to get a strong patent and your
device sales are, in fact, nicely profitable after all labor,
materials, selling, overhead, and other costs are accounted for.
There are several good licensing books available at my www.booksforinventors.com web site or via Amazon.com. Please do not
expect someone else to take the weight of the decisions you must make
off your shoulders.
I’ve looked at your jewelry pieces (not the device you want to sell
off) on your web site and I like them (the artistic merit is solid),
their prices look okay, and you’ve certainly done a good job getting
them into stores (hopefully on a wholesale rather than consignment
basis). But, as has been noted in this forum before, the jewelry
business is a business and while artistic merit plays a part it is
meaningless unless the sales prices provide sound profits to both you
and your retailers AND (perceived) VALUE to the customer.
(And, I’ve sent you my phone number off line but here it is again
(517) 347-0190, I would be happy to talk with you. Just don’t expect
enthusiasm alone to carry the day, hard headed pragmatism is more my
style.)
congratulations on your success. It sounds to me like you should be
putting your prices up. If you are getting that type of response I
think you deserve to be making a little more money. Creative people
are often reluctant to charge what they deserve. It took me years to
put my prices up to where they should be. I cant believe how cheap i
used to be. I used to work over a hundred hours a week and a
colleague told me to keep putting my prices up until the work
dropped off to a manageable level. to my supprise i was able to more
than triple my prices and still had more work than what i wanted…